To Kill a Mockingbird Racism is a moral catastrophe, ~Cornel West, A provocative democratic intellectual. Blindness towards others views is the seed of racism, and ignorance is the water that helps it grow. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee,Maycomb, the setting, is suffering from the sproutlings of racism. Many people in the town of Maycomb have what Atticus, the protagonist calls, Maycombs Disease. Many people have the “disease”, but the Finch family appears to not be affected by this metaphorical disease, because they have empathy for others. Harper Lee compares the Finches with many other people of Maycomb to show that getting to understand others can help kill the idea that they are different or less than. Empathy can help us see
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In chapter four, Scout finds some gum in Boo Radley’s tree. Scout takes this gum home and starts to taste it despite the fact the rumors that it may be poisoned and could kill you. Jem, another main character, quickly tells Scout to spit it out, “ ‘Don’t you know you’re not supposed to even touch the trees over there? You’ll get killed if you do!’” (Chapter 4, Lee). Instead of leaving the gum alone, Scout doesn’t listen to the rumors that people of Maycomb have been spreading around, but instead trusts whoever put the gum there with possibly her life. Proving that the gum in the Radley tree wasn’t poisoned might have been the first step in Scout proving to everyone that despite all the rumors floating around, Mr.Radley might not be the bad person everyone thinks he …show more content…
We can see big empathy in both characters, but also see how they change and express these acts of empathy. In the start of the book, Scout helps in spreading rumors about Boo Radley, and even helping make fun of Walter Cunningham. In Scout, we see this behavior all the way up to Tom Robinsons court case. After finding out the ruling of the court case, Scout’s attitude has a major shift towards the idea of helping others, and understanding others rather than making fun of them or participating in acts that are detrimental to another person. In chapter 30, Scout gets to meet Mr. Boo Radley, or Arthur Radley, for the first time. After realising that Mr.Arthur was the one that possibly saved her life, Scout began to look at Arthur as sort of a friend, or savior, instead of all the rumors that people had spread about him before. The same can be said about Tom Robinson. Tom and Atticus both know that Mayella Ewell is the guilty person in the court room, but instead of getting mad that Mayella is lieing, Tom tries to connect with her. With all the racism that Tom has to deal with on day to day life, he still tries to connect and understand other people despite who they are, just like the main protagonist, Atticus. Even to the girl who lied under oath in a court of law, and eventually the person that will cause Tom Robinson to loose the court case, he tries to relate
In chapter four, Scout finds some gum in Boo Radley’s tree. Scout takes this gum home and starts to taste it despite the fact the rumors that it may be poisoned and could kill you. Jem, another main character, quickly tells Scout to spit it out, “ ‘Don’t you know you’re not supposed to even touch the trees over there? You’ll get killed if you do!’” (Chapter 4, Lee). Instead of leaving the gum alone, Scout doesn’t listen to the rumors that people of Maycomb have been spreading around, but instead trusts whoever put the gum there with possibly her life. Proving that the gum in the Radley tree wasn’t poisoned might have been the first step in Scout proving to everyone that despite all the rumors floating around, Mr.Radley might not be the bad person everyone thinks he …show more content…
We can see big empathy in both characters, but also see how they change and express these acts of empathy. In the start of the book, Scout helps in spreading rumors about Boo Radley, and even helping make fun of Walter Cunningham. In Scout, we see this behavior all the way up to Tom Robinsons court case. After finding out the ruling of the court case, Scout’s attitude has a major shift towards the idea of helping others, and understanding others rather than making fun of them or participating in acts that are detrimental to another person. In chapter 30, Scout gets to meet Mr. Boo Radley, or Arthur Radley, for the first time. After realising that Mr.Arthur was the one that possibly saved her life, Scout began to look at Arthur as sort of a friend, or savior, instead of all the rumors that people had spread about him before. The same can be said about Tom Robinson. Tom and Atticus both know that Mayella Ewell is the guilty person in the court room, but instead of getting mad that Mayella is lieing, Tom tries to connect with her. With all the racism that Tom has to deal with on day to day life, he still tries to connect and understand other people despite who they are, just like the main protagonist, Atticus. Even to the girl who lied under oath in a court of law, and eventually the person that will cause Tom Robinson to loose the court case, he tries to relate